News

Visa intros solution to speed up EMV transactions

Visa Quick Chip allows customers to dip and remove their EMV chip card from the terminal, typically in two seconds or less, without waiting for the transaction to be finalized.

April 21, 2016

Visa Inc. has announced the launch of Quick Chip for EMV, a technology enhancement that optimizes EMV1 chip card processing and speeds up transaction times.

The upgrade streamlines the processing of chip card transactions to enable customers to dip and remove their EMV chip card from the terminal, typically in two seconds or less, without waiting for the transaction to be finalized. The enhancement requires only a simple software update to the merchant's card terminal or point of sale system.

The Quick Chip specification is available at no charge to payment processors, acquiring banks, and other payment networks to offer to merchants.

"Visa is advancing a streamlined approach to chip transactions to make them faster and more efficient, while still providing a safe and secure experience," said Mark Nelsen, senior vice president of risk products and business intelligence at Visa. "Quick Chip for EMV helps make the checkout experience comparable to the ease and speed of magnetic stripe transactions."

According to a Visa press release, the process offers benefits that include:

• faster checkout — Quick Chip-enhanced terminals prompt the cardholder to dip the chip card briefly in the reader and then remove it, reducing interaction time to about two seconds;
• streamlined processing — the payment card can be inserted and removed while the shopping cart is still being rung up, further streamlining the acceptance process; and
• simple implementation — Quick Chip requires a payment application software update that can be easily downloaded to the payment terminal. Once installed, the technology will work with all cardholder verification methods, including signature and PIN, and does not require changes to routing or transaction handling. No additional testing is required if the checkout system has already been certified as EMV chip compliant.